Children’s play at heart of museum

IT is always heartening when you see a good idea come to fruition.

In May, we published a story about a mum who was campaigning for an interactive children’s museum to be established in Geelong.

Kate Scorpo identified that the City of Greater Geelong’s creative vision was missing a key ingredient and said Geelong’s CBD was the ideal location for a specialised children’s museum.

Sick of being forced to drive to Melbourne to provide fun, interactive experiences for her two children, Ms Scorpo said the facility could be similar to the children’s exhibition at Scienceworks.

City of Greater Geelong director of customer and corporate services Michael Dugina lauded the idea and said it could form part of the city’s cultural strategy.

Barely three months later and it seems her idea has been seized by Thomas Mahon and Billie Georgieff, who will transform McKillop St’s grand old Wintergarden into the Museum of Play and Art.

The couple said they had toured the world’s best children’s museums before settling on their format, which would feature 30 immersive exhibits covering a mix of creative, play-based and STEM subjects aimed at children aged four to 10.

They pledge the museum will be hands-on, educational and fun. And it should eliminate parents’ needs to travel up the highway for a similar experience.

If successful, MoPA could fill that gap in our clever and creative offering Ms Scorpo identified all those months ago.

In which case local kids will not be the only ones squealing with delight.